Posts Tagged ‘BPMS’

BPM has always been social, especially the analysis and modeling phases that are heavy with discovery and information exchange. Social is the glue that binds the process. As practitioners of improving how work is done, social technologies give us the tools to improve how we work.

With the convergence of social we are able to take a more collaborative approach to promote greater stakeholder integration into the exchange of information and discovery, especially for those data and layer intensive processes. Discussions and the interchange of information via a social platform offer new possibilities for more effective and flexible process design.

The analysis and modeling phases are one of the most if not the most time consuming activities of BPI workflow. Taking advantage of social technologies to connect process owners and stakeholders, to get answers, resolve issues, and address specific business processes makes sense and advantageous in reducing time and cost. Social platforms offer the resources to better manage expectations. The wide range of participants collaborating eliminates many of the constraints associated with doing process analysis.

Incorporating social technologies into our schemes provides for the discovery of similar experiences and relationships between work and the information technology landscape. Taking advantage of social business models like Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, internal blogs and even knowledge management platforms provide venues for a library of information, and have the ability to deliver increased value in that they can facilitate improved communication and coordination of information, making them relative to the decision making process. Merging social with BPM eases the adaption to changes, as in the modeling process by minimizing the obstacles that arise between modeler and the process and stakeholder, which are often barriers to model adoption.

Social is natural, part of the human experience, an element of the corporate landscape, it makes sense for BPM and social technologies to come together.

Only through acceptance and sound BPM structure can businesses benefit from or better use Business Process Management software (BPMS). BPM is a management attitude aligning business processes with the goals of the organization. Business Process Management System is just that – a system or application, regardless how robust, it’s a resource that should enable the holistic approach to process management – add value to stratagem. When the discussion is BPM my colleagues respond with BPMS, falling into the old scenario of putting the cart before the horse.

Let’s flip the question, how can BPMS benefit businesses? The very first prerequisite is there has to be organizational acceptance of BPM as a valued discipline focused on change. The organization as a whole, C-Suite, knowledge workers, partners, stakeholders, etc., have to understand that BPM is about visibility, understanding the value stream, collaboration, transformation and governance of processes; integrating silos in the effort to support business decisions. The BPMS as an organizational resource should facilitate the effort. The second prerequisite to achieve the latter is defining structure – rules, controls and matrices for business processes outside of the BPMS, automation of the right processes and effective change and information management. Like any other IT infrastructure resource its interoperability has to be seamless. Organizational goals and system expectations have to be clear, synchronized and manageable before benefit is gained.